Ireland international Paul McShane scored a rare goal on Saturday afternoon as Reading kept up their promotion push.
The 31-year-old scored his third of the season as Jaap Stam’s side saw off a battling Wolves to halt a poor run and get their playoff ambitions back on track.
With the scores tied at 1-1 heading into the last ten minutes of play, McShane popped up to get his head on the end of a John Swift free kick to head home and earn three points for the Royals.
#readingfc 2-1 #wwfc (@pmacca15 78′) pic.twitter.com/BrDto0nIRY
— tom. (@tw_1871) March 4, 2017
Great header from @pmacca15 to win the game ?? #readingfc
?: @cameron_wyper pic.twitter.com/GXDNDok7wM
— Talk Reading (@TalkReading) March 4, 2017
With Martin O’Neill set to name his squad for the World Cup qualifier against Wales in the coming days, McShane is at least keeping his profile up with a view to being named in the squad.
Indeed, it has turned out to be a good day for Ireland’s less-celebrated internationals, as striker Daryl Murphy marked his return to the Newcastle starting lineup by scoring Newcastle’s second against Huddersfield in Saturday’s evening Championship fixture.
The former Waterford United and Celtic forward was somewhat lucky, firstly in breaking the Huddersfield offside trap, and secondly in getting a second crack of the whip after his initial attempt to control the ball was parried away by goalkeeper Danny Ward.
That game remains 2-0 at half time and as it stands, Murphy, Rafa Benítez and Newcastle are all moving one step closer to promotion to the Premier League.
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